1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to heating devices, specifically a heater including a black box exchanger.
2. Description of the Related Art
A heater is an object that emits heat or causes another body to achieve a higher temperature. In a household or domestic setting, heaters are usually appliances whose purpose is to generate heating (i.e. warmth). Heaters exists for all states of matter, including solids, liquids and gases and there are 3 types of heat transfer: Convection, Conduction and Radiation.
A heat exchanger is a piece of equipment built for efficient heat transfer from one medium to another. The media may be separated by a solid wall, so that they never mix, or they may be in direct contact. They are widely used in space heating, refrigeration, air conditioning, power plants, chemical plants, petrochemical plants, petroleum refineries, natural gas processing, and sewage treatment. The classic example of a heat exchanger is found in an internal combustion engine in which a circulating fluid known as engine coolant flows through radiator coils and air flows past the coils, which cools the coolant and heats the incoming air.
Some improvements have been made in the field. Examples of references related to the present invention are described below in their own words, and the supporting teachings of each reference are incorporated by reference herein:
U.S. Pat. No. 7,046,918, issued to Burkett et al., discloses a space heater with a linear source of infrared radiant energy in heat exchange relationship with a heat exchanger formed of copper or aluminum material. The copper is pretreated to soften the copper and partially blacken the surface thereof. The aluminum is anodized and electrolytically colored dark. The space heater is thermally more efficient than a comparable space heater wherein the copper or aluminum has not been pretreated. The linear source of infrared radiant energy and heat exchanger are mounted in a heater core that is thermally insulated by an air jacket from an exterior case.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,973,260, issued to Orr et al., discloses a portable electric heater producing a vertically oriented, heated exhaust air stream at an elevation above a support surface is provided. A base contacting the support surface and supporting an elongate housing in a substantially vertical position from the support surface. An inlet opening allows air to enter the interior of the housing and a vertically oriented outlet opening allows a heated exhaust air stream to exit the housing. An air blower assembly and elongate electric heating element are disposed within the housing. The air blower assembly has a substantially vertically oriented axis of rotation and the electric heating element is substantially vertically oriented proximate the outlet opening. The flow of the exhaust air stream from the air impeller assembly toward the vertically oriented elongate electric heating element is a substantially direct and straight vector and substantially all of the exhaust air stream passes through the electric heating element.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,612,835, issued to Ibrahim, discloses a high-temperature, non-catalytic, infrared heater is formed within a housing having a bottom and at least one side lined with a refractory material. The burner includes a burner surface area and is positioned within the housing. A re-radiating surface is positioned above the burner and comprises a mesh having a re-radiating surface area greater than the burner surface area with the re-radiating surface operating between approximately 400 F. and 2200 F.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,898, issued to Kling, discloses an electric space heater includes an exterior case (10) which encloses an insulated heater core housing (12). Heat is generated in the heater core (14) by elongated incandescent ultraviolet lamps (64) mounted in a frame (60) inside the core housing (12). A porous aluminum sheet heat exchanger (68) surrounds the lamps (64) on three sides and extends the length of the lamps. A fan (34) mounted in an inlet opening (27) of a rear wall (22) of the case (10) forces air through an opening (52) in the core housing (12) through the heat exchanger (68) and around the lamps, and through outlet openings (28, 54) to the space to be heated. The core housing (12) is U-shaped with curved portions (46, 48) to laminate the air flow.
The inventions heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantages which include being inefficient, being bulky, being difficult to install, expensive, expensive to ship and/or store, being limited in use, being limited in application, being difficult to maintain a constant temperature, being ineffective, being limited in heat output, being difficult to manage or maintain, having poor heat transfer properties, heating too slowly, heating a room in an uncomfortable manner, failing to heat air sufficiently before blowing the same to a space to be heated, generating room temperature fluctuations that are too great, and the like and combinations thereof.
What is needed is a heater that solves one or more of the problems described herein and/or one or more problems that may come to the attention of one skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with this specification.